Endorsements from Moms for Liberty, DeSantis had impact on Treasure Coast school board races

Bolstered by support from like-minded parent advocates and from Gov. Ron DeSantis, conservatives will have a greater influence when newly elected, nonpartisan school board members take their seats across the Treasure Coast in November.

The results of Tuesday's primary election, in which school board candidates backed by DeSantis and the conservative Moms for Liberty advocacy group saw success, mirrored a trend seen throughout the state.

"Parents are frustrated," said Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich. "Unions have gone too far, and parents have drawn a line in the stand."

Election results showed parents want a greater say in how their students are education and what goes on in the classroom, Descovich said. This power has been exclusive to teachers for too long, she said.

"It's putting parents back in the driver's seat of public education," she said.

DeSantis endorsed two Treasure Coast school board candidates — Jen Russell in Martin County, who won her first School Board election against Elizabeth Bernstein; and Indian River County School Board incumbent Jacqueline Rosario, who nearly took half of the votes in a four-person race for the District 2 seat. Rosario now faces challenger Cindy Gibbs — endorsed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist — in a runoff in the November general election.

The overwhelming support for Rosario was a clear indication that DeSantis' endorsement carried weight, she said. She met voters who voiced support because of DeSantis, she said.

Likewise, Russell attributed her victory, in part, to DeSantis.

"He is well respected and well liked," Russell said. "People value his opinion. That carried weight."

DeSantis' success

DeSantis has been active in statewide education since taking office. He pushed for legislation such as the Parents Rights in Education Act, referred to by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. He endorsed school board candidates who repeated his mantra of wanting "education not indoctrination."

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Statewide, 25 of DeSantis' 30 endorsed school board candidates either won their races or made it into a runoff.

This year's campaign turned very political, even though school board races are designated as nonpartisan, Gibbs said.

"I don't believe politics belongs in schools," she said. "We're talking about kids in schools."

Gibbs accepted Crist's endorsement after his campaign asked her, she said. She attended a Vero Beach candidates event where Crist was speaking, she said. During the campaign, Gibbs downplayed the endorsement, saying she wanted to focus more on local endorsements, such as those from the Realtors Association of Indian River County and pro-literacy groups.

"I accepted his endorsement, but I didn't make a T-shirt out of it," she said, adding she accepted no money from the Crist campaign. "I don't think (the School Board race) should be political."

An endorsement from DeSantis could backfire, as he now moves on to his own reelection campaign, she said. More people will be voting in November, so Gibbs plans to sway them to her side.

"I think we're going to see a lot more (voting) activity in November, and that helps all of us," she said. "The governor made it all about him, but that's not really what it's all about."

For the runoff, Gibbs plans to focus on issues that unite the community, rather than those that divide it, such as looking at ways to improve student academic achievement. She'll knock on all doors, rather than focus on one political party.

Moms for Liberty candidate wins in Martin County

School board candidates also were bolstered by support from Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents-rights advocacy group that began last year in Indian River and Brevard counties.

Amy Pritchett, co-chair of the Martin County chapter of Moms for Liberty, defeated incumbent and middle school teacher Anthony "Tony" Anderson, the brother of former School Board member David Anderson, who served 32 years on the board.

Pritchett was unavailable for comment.

Rosario also received $250 from Moms for Liberty Florida, $3,000 from the Republican Executive Committee Indian River County and $1,000 from the Friends of Ron DeSantis.

Russell received $1,000 from the Friends of Ron DeSantis. Pritchett received $250 from Moms for Liberty Florida.

"It's important to support parents and their rights," Rosario said, echoing the message promoted by Moms for Liberty. The district should be a standards-driving education system, teaching the basic subjects, she said.

"The work I've been doing has been pretty straightforward," said Rosario, whose track record almost mirrors the Moms for Liberty agenda.

She fought to ensure a critical race theory curriculum was not adopted by the school district and voted twice against a mask mandate — a decision she believes belongs to parents to make. She sided with parents who wanted books removed from school libraries on the basis they contained graphic content.

Statewide, Moms for Liberty supported nearly 60 candidates in 24 counties with endorsements and campaign donations. Many of the group's picks also were endorsed by DeSantis.

The Moms for Liberty Florida political committee gave $250 to 56 school board campaigns, for a total of $14,000, according to state campaign-finance records. The committee got a high-profile boost in June with a $50,000 donation from Publix heiress Julie Fancelli, who also helped finance the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Three other candidates received recommendations without financial donations from their local Moms for Liberty chapters.

Of the 59 candidates, 23 won their races, while 12 got enough votes to advance to runoff elections, according to an analysis by the USA Today Network-Florida.

A seat at the table

Parents want a seat at the table on the school board, Descovich said. For years, unions have helped candidates from within the district win seats on school boards. In turn, those school board members supported the unions during negotiations when it came to pay, benefits and school operations, such as early-release days and school-opening times, she said.

"It's been a very unfair balance of power for a very long time," Descovich said. The Moms for Liberty endorsements are about balancing out the power, she said.

But Gibbs also has heard from partisan groups opposed to the Moms for Liberty platform, she said.

"There's a lot of Republican teachers around here who are not indoctrinating kids," she said. "No one in elementary schools is teaching kids how to be gay. It's not a state standard."

She called much of the Moms for Liberty platform "buzz words that get people excited."

At the same time, not all Moms for Liberty-backed candidates were successful. Longtime Indian River County educator Teri Barenborg  won reelection to her District 4 seat against Moms for Liberty-supported candidate Thomas Kenny.

In Martin County, Anderson lost reelection by 337 votes, showing the community is split, he said.

"Half of Martin County is hurting (over the results)," he said.

Anderson said he would have found it difficult to work in such a highly politicized environment had he been reelected.

Anderson said he now can be more vocal in his opinions — as a member of the public speaking to the board. As a board member, he said, he often held back.

"I spoke truth to power. I guess I didn't belong," Anderson said. "It was going to be tough for me. Now I can go to that podium and tell (the board) what they need to hear."

Herald-Tribute Political Editor Zac Anderson and USA Today Network-Florida reporter Kathryn Varn contributed to this report. 

Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm.com. Contact her at Colleen.Wixon@TCPalm.com or 772-978-2235.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Politics in education: Conservative endorsements impact school board races